More than 200,000 people in Russia may be laid off before the holidays and in the beginning of 2019, according to a forecast of the Labor Ministry, Izvestia reports.
Specifically, bank employees may face the risk of losing their jobs due to regular shutdowns of banks by the Central Bank. Mass dismissals may also affect drivers and other transport workers, as well as jobs in machine engineering and electrical equipment manufacture. Over 230,000 Russians, mostly from Moscow and St. Petersburg, may lose their jobs.
The Labor Ministry’s analysis is based on the information from 46,000 companies employing 12 million people. A number of companies have already put many of their employees on part-time work. The ministry commented that the down-sizing has nothing to do with the holidays. They occur and will continue to occur but the reports came in during the holiday season. According to law, employers must notify employment services two months before planned redundancy.
“This doesn’t mean that all the people will be laid off,” the ministry spokesperson added. “The situation in a specific company may change thanks to, for example, new deals, debt repayment etc., resulting in retained or even newly hired workforce.